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Topic Review (Newest First)

09-11-2012 12:47 PM

cd66312

Re: Best power tools?

Can't believe no one has mentioned Kobalt. My garage is the home of both Bosch and Kobalt lithium ion sets. Apart from using the Bosch impact driver (don't know how I ever lived without one), the Kobalt set is every bit as good, and has a lifetime warranty. No need to ship broken bits, just bring to Lowes and they replace.

09-11-2012 12:10 PM

erie bound

Re: Best power tools?

As a project manager & electrician, I have had the best luck with Bosch cordless tools and Porter Cable corded power tools. Believeme my guys can tear stuff up, and these tools hold up well.

The marine environment will take its own toll certainly too. I have DeWalts and have had good luck, I would hate to lose one, but it would be cheaper than losing a really high end one.

Not just overboard. Buying high end tools for hobby type purposes is simply a waste of money in most cases. The main thing you pay the high price for is durability - the ability to use it all day, every day. Few of us do that. I have worn out a DeWalt orbital sander but I sanded the bottom of a 43 footer for a month with it along with a lot of other use before it started to get noisy.

I paid $75 for it - I could have bought a Festool for several $hundred and I'm sure it would still be working fine but instead I bought a Makita for $49 on sale and it's still working fine.

There's no question that expensive tools are nicer and if you have a big budget, go for it but for the rest of us, moderate priced tools are more than adequate, as long as they are good enough to be accurate.

The best power tool I ever bought was a bottom of the line Rockwell 1/4" router. I bought it from a discount store 35 years ago, have built or restored 3 boats and a lot of other stuff with it and it's still going strong.

09-11-2012 11:03 AM

IronSpinnaker

Re: Best power tools?

Hey Sailortrash
did we help you make up your mind

This is a story that goes back decades. Companies where here in the USA and Brand Loyalty meant US Jobs. But then jobs started going over seas an businesses started capitalizing on brand name recognition. They could build a cheaper product and sell it at the higher end price.
Toyota started getting imported to the US market and a cheap car gains a foothold and reputation to follow.
Honda and Nissan follows.
Now Hyundai.
All once considered cheap imported throwaway cars, but when people bought them they found that instead of getting 100 k out of a car they could get 300k. The American companies were forced to improve their lines or get pushed out of the market.

My FIL bought a 45 hp John Deere tractor a few years ago. He bought into the whole "nothing runs like a deere" line and paid good money for an "American Brand". The first year or two he used the dealer for everything and it was costing him. I told him the parts could be purchased cheaper so now we buy everything he needs online from Yanmar. I suspect in another 10 years that whole tractor will be blue. The parts are about 1/3 the cost of the ones that come painted green and yellow. Yanmar is a good tractor, but he paid a lot extra for the Green paint. John Deere doesn't actually make much except profits anymore.

How about Craftsman? Another well recognizable name with a long history in the USA. They are made by Techtronic Industries. The company who also make Milwaukee tools, Hoover Vacuums, Homelite power equipment, and Ryobi.

The old adage "you get what you pay for" isn't always true... sometimes you just get robbed.

09-11-2012 10:27 AM

emoney

Re: Best power tools?

DeWalt.....best value in tools, hands down.

09-11-2012 10:19 AM

hellosailor

Re: Best power tools?

For the occasional hole in just about anything except metal, there's always the old Yankee Push Drill. The new ones seem clunkier than the old ones, but either one does just fine making small holes in wood and plastic. No batteries, no power cords, and easily survives a dunking.

09-11-2012 07:52 AM

CapnBones

Re: Best power tools?

How much money are you willing to accidentally drop overboard?

The marine environment will take its own toll certainly too. I have DeWalts and have had good luck, I would hate to lose one, but it would be cheaper than losing a really high end one.

09-11-2012 06:56 AM

INMA

Re: Best power tools?

The Bosch Lithium Ion rechargeable system is excellent with the impact screw drive being a game changer.

I have a Bosch 10mm drill that has done a great job over 20 years of hard use.

If my bosch stuff was stolen tomorrow, I would go out and buy the same, its that simple.

Wow! It seems like a whole lot of people carry power tools around on their boats! My power tools come down to the boat when I am working on it, and go back into the garage when I am done!

I suppose if I was going to keep a drill on my boat it wouldn't be my best one, but I can't for the life of me think of why I would need a drill on board when I am sailing! Besides I don't have the space for all that stuff!

Buy a big-ass inverter, eliminate the batteries, and go with the El-Cheapo stuff. I have an old Black and Decker drill, probably nearly 40 years old by now, it still runs fine, even after 7 years on the boat. I also have a B&D orbital sander, a real old B&D jig saw, all of which have been on the boat for at least 6 years, and they all run just fine. I keep them clean, spray them with some WD-40 a couple times a year, then wrap them in an old T-shirt and place them in an open, plastic box. They've never let me down and I use every tool on a regular basis. I even take them home once in a while to fix things around the house. Why anyone would want a battery powered tool onboard a boat is beyond me. Let's be realistic - you need to charge those batteries and in order to do so you need an inverter. Just get a bigger inverter and forget about those expensive, battery-powered tools. You don't need them.

Good luck with whatever you decide upon,

Gary

I'm with ya there Gary.

For the record, I have no problem with good tools. I have so many tools, no exhageration, it is incredible. My pops was a custom cabinet maker (owned his own shop) and I have long been a believer of doing my own work and we have a large line of very good tools. Also, there is no one good maker of everything. Each manufacturer has there positives.

THat being said, you can buy a 110 drill or 110 jig saw(IMHO, the two best tools to have aboard not including a shopvac) for almost nothing. Drops in the water, so what? Curse and buy another one for almost nothing. Drop your $300 Dewalt XRT in the water and it will ruin your week... PLUS you gotta go buy another one. THen you have the weight and hassle of all the batteries and charging stations and when do you plug it in and, oh, by the way, you gotta have a inverter to plug them in to charge them to make your battery operated work!

My experience is just get a inverter and buy the 110 stuff. Plus, the torque on the 110 is typically if not always higher. Less space. Less weight. Less hassle. Less cost. More powerful. I would NOT, and did not reccomend this for remodeling or construction where battery operated are worth their weight in gold. But for a boat (exception gong up the mast), I don't see it worth it. Just so you know, I got a long enough cord to reach the top of my mast... but if it came to it, I'd go around begging to borrow a cordless.

Brian

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